Poor management in sports blamed for RI Asiad failure
JAKARTA (JP): One main reason behind Indonesia's flawed performance at the just concluded Asian Games in Hiroshima is the increasingly complicated task of management for the National Sports Governing Body (KONI), Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono Isman says.
As the curtain came down on the 12th Asian Games on Sunday, Indonesia finished 11th with only three gold medals, all of which came from badminton, the country's strongest sport, 12 silvers and 11 bronzes.
"KONI has too many sports under its auspices. It handles both organized sports and board games. If we are to fully adhere to Olympic rules, we should have two separate bodies, one of which should be concentrated on the development of official Olympic sports only," Hayono said yesterday.
The introduction of two separate bodies, intended to reduce the number of KONI's overwhelming tasks, will be discussed in detail at the body's next national congress slated for early next year in Denpasar, Bali, Hayono said after receiving the arriving Indonesian Asian Games athletes at the Soekarno-Hatta airport yesterday evening.
Though many observers view the Indonesian medal tally as poor, Hayono said optimistically, "at any rate, we should thank God because we won more this time than in Beijing four years ago."
At the Asian Games in Beijing, Indonesia finished seventh with three golds, six silvers, half of this year's number, and 21 bronzes. Hayono added that the government has promised to review the present management of national sports in order to improve the current system for preparing and grooming athletes.
KONI, set up by the government in 1966, initially managed 34 sports associations in basketball, soccer, swimming, track and field. It has also allowed various recreational sports such as board games, mountaineering and other miscellaneous special sports for the disabled to join.
KONI's chairman Surono told reporters after dissolving the 210-strong Indonesian squad that unexpected circumstances, the entrance of five ex-Soviet republics, for example, are to blame for Indonesia's off-target showing at the Asian Games.
"There were some unforeseen circumstances ... that Susi Susanti failed to win gold for women's singles, for instance, was completely unexpected," Surono said. Susi Susanti is the world number one women's shuttler and Barcelona Olympics champion. She fell easily to Japan's unheralded Hisako Mizui.
Disappointments
Surono said that he expected four golds but "who would have thought that Susi would fail? And in addition, the former Soviet republics were there ..."
Other disappointments, Surono said, included Indonesia's unexpected loss in the surfing event, where Indonesia has won many times at the Asian level, boxing and equestrian.
Hence, Surono said, the sports associations should ask themselves why they failed. This was confirmed by Mangombar Ferdinand Siregar, former KONI secretary general. He said the chairman in charge of each sports association and other high- ranking officials should not just concentrate on their development plans but monitor their progress and see if they are reaching set goals.
"Until I see it for myself, it will be difficult to believe that the athletes and their coaches are training according to plan," Siregar added. (are)
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